Phil Taylor

Compendium / chronology documenting both the artists' books of Edward Ruscha, and the books inspired by, or aping, Ruscha's artist's books. Edited by Jeff Brouws, Wendy Burton and Hermann Zschiegner. Text by Phil Taylor, with and essay by Mark Rawlinson.

Riffs, revisions, knockoffs, and homages: artists pay tribute to Ed Ruscha's famous photo-conceptual small books.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the artist Ed Ruscha created a series of small photo-conceptual artist's books, among them Twentysix Gas Stations, Various Small Fires, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Real Estate Opportunities, and A Few Palm Trees. Featuring mundane subjects photographed prosaically, with idiosyncratically deadpan titles, these “small books” were sought after, collected, and loved by Ruscha's fans and fellow artists. Over the past thirty years, close to 100 other small books that appropriated or paid homage to Ruscha's have appeared throughout the world. This book collects ninety-one of these projects, showcasing the cover and sample layouts from each along with a description of the work. It also includes selections from Ruscha's books and an appendix listing all known Ruscha book tributes.

These small books revisit, imitate, honor, and parody Ruscha in form, content, and title. Some rephotograph his subjects: Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Forty Years Later. Some offer a humorous variation: Various Unbaked Cookies (which concludes, as did Ruscha's Various Small Fires, with a glass of milk), Twentynine Palms (twenty-nine photographs of palm-readers' signs). Some say something different: None of the Buildings on Sunset Strip. Some reach for a connection with Ruscha himself: 17 Parked Cars in Various Parking Lots Along Pacific Coast Highway Between My House and Ed Ruscha's.

With his books, Ruscha expanded the artist's field of permissible subjects, approaches, and methods. With VARIOUS SMALL BOOKS, various artists pay tribute to Ed Ruscha and extend the legacy of his books.… (más)

In collection Bool:
Simon Morris, Royal Road to the Unconscious, 2003, p. 76-77
Hermann Zschiegner, Thirtyfour Parking Lots on Google Earth, 2006, p. 118-119
Louisa van Leer, Fifteen Pornography Companies, 2006, p. 110-11
Jochen Manz, Twentythree Bankers Blink, 2009, p. 204-205
Joachim Schmid, Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirty-four Parking Lots, Nine Swimming Pools, A Few Palm Trees, No Small Fires, 2009, p. 206-207
Tanja Lazetic, Nine Swimming Pools Behind A Broken Glass, 2010, p. 214-215
Tanja Lazetic, Coloured People in Black and Whit (Yellow), 2010, p. 216-217
Dejan Habicht, One Gasoline Station, 2010, p. 240-241
Tadej Pogacar, Various (Small) Pieces of Trash, 2010, p. 250-251… (más)

This is a great story about a group of childhood friends who grew up, got jobs, and got married, and yet the friendship they shared as children remained firm and continued into adulthood – that alone is a great story.

The story unfolds with these four friends attending a funeral, and over the following days a set of circumstances unfolds which has them trying to unravel the truth behind the mysterious deaths that have touched each of them personally. As they delve deeper into what lies behind the murders, they learn some truths about the neighbourhood they grew up in, and about the people they thought they knew. They also ultimately learn that they can trust each other, and when push comes to shove, they will always be there for each other.

There were a few really good twists to the story that had me turning the pages. The author did a really great job with the characters – I like it when I can relate to all the characters in a book, it makes the read so much more enjoyable, and when it is infused with humour and good writing that flows, I am happy.

This is a great book – maybe a bit too short as I would like to have read more. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, and can relate to a bunch of guys who revert back to their childhood shenanigans when they are together. A good read… (más)